In the music industry, music has been sold to consumers by music retailers for years on various media. Today, music marketed to consumers is typically recorded on cassette tapes and compact discs (CD) and sold at retail stores. With the advent of the Internet, various consumer products, including recorded music, are marketed and sold over the Internet, where the financial transaction is handled electronically but the product is physically delivered by some other means such as the postal service or a private carrier. The consumer may purchase a CD from a retailer using a retailer's web site and receive the CD in the mail. Once the consumer receives the CD having purchased it, the consumer can listen to the music repeatedly by playing the CD in a separate device such as a CD player or the consumer can give the CD to someone else. The retailer and copyright owner have lost control over that product in that, for example, the music may be copied but no further payment or royalties are collectable.
Music is also available on the Internet for consumers to listen to without purchasing. As the music is transmitted over the Internet, it is played at the consumer's computer by a software application such as Real-Player but the music is at no time resident at the consumer's computer. The consumer does not own the music, cannot retain the music and cannot replay the music without accessing the source through the Internet. The source, presumably the music retailer, retains control over the music.
A disadvantage of conventional systems is that they fail to afford consumers and retailers flexibility in the methods for receiving and using music and the amount of control transferred from the music owner or retailer to the music purchaser. There is a need for a system that enables consumers to find, purchase and receive music completely over the Internet in a way comparable to conventional purchasing of music at a retail store. What is further needed is a system for delivering music that offers consumers alternatives to purchasing, such as renting music. The present invention satisfies these and other needs.
The development of the present invention has become possible in part due to the creation of suitable technologies upon which it can be built. These elements include a secure persistent container in which the content resides, the ability to have rules that persistently apply to that content coupled with a distributed rights system that can interpret and act upon these rules.